NIXI Appointed as Registrar for India’s Top Level Domain

November 23, 2004; 06:03 AM

(DomainInformer.com) - Pursuant to the announcement by the Government of the policy on ".in" internet domain registration, the Department of Information Technology (DIT), Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, has designated and appointed National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI ) as ".in" Registry (.INR) for ".in" country code tope level domain name. Internet Domain Names worldwide have assumed greater significance in recent times with the Internet increasingly being used as an effective medium for commerce, governance, education and communication. The system of registration of Internet Domain Names can facilitate the proliferation of Internet in a country. Many countries have, therefore, adopted liberal and market friendly policies to register large number of Domain Names under their country code, broadly consistent with globally accepted policy and procedures of Domain registration.

The NIXI , as ".INR" will implement the policy in accordance with the institutional framework and implementation mechanism contained in the ".in Internet Domain Name Policy Frame Work and Implementation" document dated 28.10.2004 of the DIT.

As part of the new policy, the domain zone .gov.in will be exclusively reserved for registering domain names under Government Departments/Ministries/States and Union Territories, .ac.in and .edu.in will be exclusively reserved for educational institutions and .mil.in will be reserved for Defence organisations. The designated Registrars for the abovementioned zones will be as follows:

Domain Zones
Registrar

.gov.in
National Informatics Centre (NIC)

.ac.in

.edu.in
ERNET India

.mil.in
An organisation nominated by the Ministry of Defence

The internet domain name registration system greatly proliferates the Internet, connecting all ISPs of the country to the National Internet Exchange and is aimed to achieve efficient internet traffic routing and cost reduction, thereby improving the quality of service for the internet users in India. This will also help in increasing the PC penetration and bring cyber connectivity to every citizen. The new policy for .in Domain Name registration covers the following main elements:

Unlimited generic .in registration will be offered at 2nd level of Domain Name and also at the 3rd level in the globally popular zones of Domain registration, e.g., .co.in, .net.in and .org.in.

Registrations will be carried out by Registrars to be appointed by the .in Registry through an open process of selection on the basis of transparent eligibility criteria.

Registrations will be offered by the Registrars following a competitive pricing policy and best market practices. The minimum fee charged by the .in Registry will be Rs. 250 and Rs. 500 per year for registrations at 3rd and 2nd levels respectively.

The .in Registry will adopt Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), and will be assisted by a Dispute Resolution Committee to resolve disputes involving the Registry. It will also appoint Arbitrators to address disputes involving the Registrars and the registrants.

The entire process of registration will be online and should be completed in less than 24 hours of the receipt of the request from a registrant.

The .in Registry will announce a ‘Sunrise period' of 90 days to enable registered trademark owners, registered companies and owners of intellectual property having a legitimate interest in protecting their brand to secure registration of their Domain Names after due verification.

The zones for Government, Military and Educational Institutions will be reserved for exclusive use by the respective organizations. Registrations for these will be offered by NIC, an organization nominated by the Ministry of Defence, and ERNET, respectively.

The .in Registry will have the authority to deny or suspend any registration if it conflicts with the sovereign national interest or public order.

The names of Constitutional Authorities, States/Union Territories and specific names used by the .in Registry will constitute the reserved category of names, which will not be available to the general public.